Toy calculating machine



l967 SHIGEAKI KURAMOCHI ,30

TOY CALCULATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Dec. 6, 1965 FIG.

m VEQN TOR. BY/(JMM J n- 24, 196 SHIGEAKI KURAMOCHI TOY CALCULATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1965 1967 SHlGEAKl KURAMOCHI 3,300,130

TOY CALCULATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 6, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 6, 1965 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,300,130 TOY CALCULATING MACHINE Shigealri Kuramochi, 10-10 S-chome, Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Dec. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 511,858 3 Claims. (Cl. 23562) The present invention relates to an electric toy calculating machine.

The conventional toy calculating machines are generally operated by hand. They are, therefore, slow in carrying out calculating operations and are often no better than a cash register by which only addition can be performed.

Furthermore, in these conventional machines, a digit is carried fro-m a lower place to higher by a mechanism by means of which any of the digit cylinders is given a full turn for each ten revolutions of the adjacent lower place cylinder, with the result that the machine has a heavy motion and is apt to break down easily.

The primary object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a toy calculating machine which has a novel place carrying mechanism and therefore has a light motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy calculating machine which is adapted to be operated electrically so that calculation is speeded up and on which multiplication can be carried out in a practical manner by repeated additions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a toy calculating machine which has a beautiful outside appearance, a solid construction, and can be used for practical calculation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be made clear in the following detailed description in which reference is made to the attached drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy calculating machine of the present invention with part of the upper panel and the casing being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the mechanism within the casing as seen from the right;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the mechanism within the casing as seen from the left;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the rotating mechanism seen from the inside of the right side plate with parts in front of it omitted;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a digit cylinder and a place carrier showing the place carrying mechanism;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation view, partly in section, of a clearing device for an indicator window; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the place carrier.

Referring to FIG. 1, on a casing 1 constructed of beautifully finished metal plates is fitted an upper panel 2 of plastic, and in a digit plate 3 provided on the front of said panel are provided four columns of digit buttons 6, each comprising 10 digit buttons having indicator from to 9 thereon. In the upper portion of the panel 2 is a plurality of indicator windows 4 through which, as shown, the digits of five-figure numbers are exposed, the digits being on five digit cylinders D D On the right hand end of the panel 2 is an operating bar and on the right hand side of the machine is provided a clearing handle 7.

' The mechanism within the casing comprises a frame consisting of a pair of side plates, right side plate 8 and left side plate 8 the five digit cylinders which are positioned between said side plat-es, five sets of means for driving said cylinders, a motor, and a reduction means. The two side plates are fixed together by seven shafts S S at a distance so that main rotatory parts are supported there-between. Shaft S is the shaft supporting the digit 3,300,130 Patented Jan. 24, 1967 cylinders, S supports the place carrier C, S supports a ratchet for the clearing device, 5., supports ratchets R which drive the digit cylinders, S pivotally supports digit setting levers L, S supports a return spring 217 and a support 216 for the place carriers, and S is a fixed bar supporting a tension spring 214 connected to a fixed lever 212 for the digit cylinders D.

A foldable table 1' for a memorandum pad or the like is mounted on the side of the casing 1.

To carry out an adding operation, the added number is first set in the indicator window 4. This is done by turning the digit cylinders D by a rotating mechanism for the digit cylinders. In FIG. 4, only one of the digit cylinders and a single set of the means which drives said cylinders are shown.

In FIG. 4, a cam 202, which is a plate shaped cam with configuration having a shoulder 203 thereon, is positioned inside the left side plate 8 and has the shoulder portion 203 in engagement with a stop plate 201 which extends transversely and horizontally between the two side plates 8 and 8 The cam 202 is thereby prevented from turning around shaft 157 mounted between left side plate 8 and support 156 in the direction indicated by an arrow in the figure. At proper positions on said cam plate 202 are provided a lug 204 projecting at right angles therefrom and a camming projection 205, the latter engaging with a slot 206 in a lever 206 and thereby pivotally moving said lever 206 back and forth around the shaft S as the cam 202 makes one revolution. The lug 204 engages with a lever 152 (shown most clearly in FIG. 3) a the cam plate 202 turns in the direction indicated by the arrow and acts to push the lever down from the position shown in dotted lines into the position shown in solid lines.

Five levers L are pivotally arranged between the side plates S and 8 one lever L corresponding to each of the digit cylinders. These cylinders and levers L are designated, from right to left, as D D D D D and L L L L L respectively.

A shift plate 207 that extends horizontally is fixedly mounted on the side of the lever 206 so as to be perpendicular thereto, and is adapted to shift each of the levers L as said lever 206 makes its pivotal motion.

To each of the levers L is attached a wire spring 218 which extends around the shaft S so that each of the levers L and the shift plate 207 are kept in engagement with each other. Further, between said shift plate 207 and each of the levers L is a tension spring 219 so that each of the levers L and the lever 206 can assume any angle relative to each other at the point S Each of the levers L is, at a point 209, pivotally attached to a connecting bar B, and the other end of said bar is in turn connected pivotally to one of the ratchets R at a point 210 on the outer circle of said ratchets. The shaft S, on which the ratchets R are mounted can move in a slot (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4) and is designed to cause the ratchets R to engage, in the uppermost position of the shaft 8,, with a ratchet R of one of the digit cylinders D. In FIG. 4 they are shown in the disengaged state.

Adjacent to and coaxial with each ratchet R of the digit cylinder D is a ratchet R", and beside it is another similar ratchet R which is integral therewith. The ratchet R has engaged therewith one end 212' of an L-shaped lever 212 which can move pivotally about the shaft S and which forces this ratchet R" against the shaft S, by the action of spring 214 so that the digit cylinders are not subject to backlash. The ratchet R' is, as will be described in detail hereinafter, provided for use in the clearing operation and, therefore, engages with a ratchet R*.

The place carriers C, which has a configuration such as is shown in FIG. 7, are moved so as to be lined up in the position shown in dotted lines FIG. 4 when the opersting bar is ushed to set digits in the indieator windows, When the operation lever 5 is pushed, a transverse" bar 211 moves dewhw ards and acts on projeetion C, and rotates the carriers C ir'itb a line as shown in dotted lines in the manner as described above. Each of these plaeecarriers c, as wit-1 he described below, turns to the position shown in solid lines along with the turning of each of the digit c linders D. p p

On an arm 2 of eae'h f the carriers C is provided a little projection 220, which engages with a Y-shaped su ort 216 which is pivotally mounted onthe shatts S and 'brings the carriers C into the predetermined positions indicated by dotted lines and by solid lines through said support 216 and a coil s ring 217; This spring 217 Works to return the carrier's C to said positions uickly when the carriers deviate from the neutral positions. The end of arm 208 on each of the carriers C is engaged by the end of a corresponding lever L. another arm 213a of the carriers is provided a horizdntally extending projection 210 by means of which eachof the carriers C engages with the corresponding digit cylinder D" in the mannerdescribed hereinafter. It should be noted that no place earrier C which corresponds to the lever L of the digit cylinder D is provided. These correspondence relations are as shown in FIG. 1. 4

The operation for setting digits in the indicator window 4 will now be explained. As a simple example, let number 7 be taken. For this number, button 7 of the ones place column and zero buttons of columns of tens place, hundreds place and thousands place are depressed. This thrusts out a bar 6 of the button Ti and the corres onding bars or the zero buttons or the tens, hunsheds and thousands place columns to stop pivotal movemerit of levers L L L L corresponding respectively to the four places at the prescribed positions. Now, as the operating bar 5 is pushed and then quickly let free, a motor 200 starts turning and moves the stop plate 201 shown in FIG. 4 to the left and disengages it from the shoulder portion 203, and then starts to drive the cam plate 202 in the direction indicated by the arrow. Then the lever 206 engaging with the cam projection 205 pivots to the left in the figure, but the levers L L and L; can not move since they are stoppedby the projections on the 0 buttons and only the springs 219 of the levers are expanded. The lever L moves leftwards farther but is stopped at the button 7 in the same manner as the other levers.

As the cam plate 202 goes on turning, the lug 204 engages and forces the lever 152 down, and the shaft 5, of the ratchets R is thereby rnoved'upward to engage the 'ratchets R with the ratchet R of the digit cylinders D.

This will be brought about by the mechanism as shown in FIG. 3. The lever 152 pivots about the point 155, and disengages the projection 154 on the lever 152 from the lever 151, the latter lever 151 moves upward in the figure under the action of spring 164 and brings the shaft 8,; engaged therewith upward into the solid line position of the figure. As seen from FIG. 3, the lever 152 which runs along the outer surface of the left side plate 8 enters the inside of the casing through a hole 153 and extends between the left side plate 8 and the cam plate 202.

After the ratchets R and R are engaged with each other, the lever 206 passes the dead center point and begins to return to its initial position. The shift plate 207 of the lever 206 engages first with the lever L the impact of engagement being mitigated by the buffer spring 218.

Urged by the shift plate 207, the lever L together with the connecting bar B continues to move -to the right and turns the ratchet R in the counterrotation through the angle subtended by one tooth is; equivalent'to' the number 1. The apparatusis designed so that each of the ratchets R rotates through an angle subtended by nine teeth during the full range movement of the lever L, so that any digit from 1 to 9 can be presentedin the indicator Window by moving the leverL through a proper distance. Number 0 is presented by not nioving the lever L at all; Inthe present case of setting number 7, at the moment the lever L has completely returned to the starting position, that is, the position where the lever L comes into line with the other levers L L L L the ratchet R has been turned seven teeth, presenting number 7 in the indicator Window 4. In this final state, each of the levers L L is in the ost tion indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 4, the cam plate 202 is stopped by engagement of the shoulder portion 203 thereof with stop 201, and the motor is also switched off in a manner described below.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, driving of the motor 200, which turns the cam plate 202 is carried out by pushing the operating lever 5, whereupon the bar 5' en gages with the end portion 101' of the lever 101 and thereby moves said lever 101 pivotally in a clockwise direction A projection 122 on the lever 101 engages with, and thereby presses an h-shaped lever 102 which can move pivotally about the point 103, On one leg of the h-shaped lever 102 is fixed a plate 106 made of an insulating material and on this plate 106 is provided a terminal 126, which moves leftwards and touches another terminal 127 provided on an insulating plate 102. This, as is clearly seen from FIG. 2, completes a circuit which runs from a terminal 124 of a battery through a wire 125, the terminal 126, the terminal 127, and a wire 128 to the motor which begins to rotate.

On the other hand, a slot 108 in which is engaged the right end of the stop plate 201 is provided in the other leg of the h-shaped lever 102. Thus, when the lever 102 moves to the left, the stop plate 201 shifts in the slot 119 provided in the right side plate 8 and is disengaged from the cam plate 202 so that the cam' plate 202 is, at the start of rotation of the motor 200, permitted to turn.

The transmission to the cam plate 202 from the motor 200 is through a pinion 163 which is fixed directly to the spindle of the motor 200, the rotation of the spindle of the motor 200 being transmitted to the shaft 157 having a gear 158 mounted thereon through aid pinion 163, a gear 161, a pinion 162, a gear 159 and a pinion 160. Thus the cam plate 202 mounted on the shaft 157 is driven by the motor. The pinion 162. and the gear 161, the pinion 160 and the gear 159 are respectively coaxially connected, and the rate of rotation of the motor 200 is greatly reduced through said transmission mechanism.

On the. other hand the clockwise pivotal movement of the lever 101 pulls the lever 105, which is connected to the lever 101 by a pin 104, to the left, which shifts a cross bar 211 to which the other end of the lever is connected into the position shown in dotted lines so that the place carriers C C C C line up simultaneously in the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4.

Further, during the pivoting movement of the lever 101, the lever 110 and levers 11 1, 112 engaged therewith press the shaft 8., down. This disengages the ratchet R from the digit cylinders D and thereby leaves it free to turn in the clockwise direction. At the same time, as will be seen frornFIG. 3, the lever 151 moves down into the dotted line position and the lever 152 pivots about the point up into the dotted line position under the action of the tension spring 165. The lever 151 is forced upward by :a tension spring 164, but is prevented from moving upward by the engagement of the hook 154 therewith.

All the actions set forth above occur when the operating bar 5 is pushed. The rotation of the motor 200 starts at thistime.

As the. rotational cycle of the cam plate 202 draws nearits end, the stop plate 201 is, due to the notched portion of the cam plate 202 and the action of. the tension spring 121, pulled toward the right and at the same time the h-shaped lever 102 returns to its initial position so that the terminals 126 and 127 are disconnected from each other to open the circuit to stop the motor. With this construction, as soon as the rotation of the motor is blocked by the stop plate 201, the motor itself is deenergized.

There will now be considered the operation of adding a number as for example the number 5, to the number 7 which is set on the machine as described above. The button 5 of the ones place column is depressed and then the operating bar 5 is pushed and quickly released. Then, as described hereinabove, the cam plate begins to turn and the lever L starts moving to the left but the other levers L L L L remain in their position. The lever L is stopped at the position corresponding to number 5 'by the bar 6' on the 5 button. The shift plate 207 engages with and urges the lever L to the right during the return stroke thereof and the connecting bar B cooperating with the lever L begins to turn the ratchet R and accordingly the ratchet R in the counterclockwise directions respectively. Thus, the digit of the cylinder D presented in the indicator window 4 increases one number at a time as the ratchet R turns the cylinder D from the preset digit 7. As seen in FIG. 5 on the left side of each of the digit cylinders D between digits 2 and 3 is provided a small projection P, which engages with the place carrier C for the next place when the digit 9 of the respective cylinder D appears in the indicator window 4. In the example of FIG. 5, the projection P of the digit cylinder D engages with the place carrier C of the tens place. It should be noted that as the lever L moves further in the return cycle and the digit of the cylinder D is brought into the indicator window 4, the place carrier C is turned over and moves into the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4. Due to this movement, the lever L is allowed to move to the right a distance corresponding to the movement of the arm 208 of the place carrier C downward, i.e. lever L moves a distance to the right of levers L L and L This pivotal motion of the lever of L corresponds to a rotation of the ratchet R through an angle of one tooth, and digit cylinder D presents digit 1 in the indicator window when the lever 206 returns to the extreme position thereof. Of course the ratchet R continues to turn and advances the digit in the window 4 of the cylinder D from 0 to 2, with the result that in the indicator window 4 there is presented the number 12, the answer to the addition of 7+5. Of course it should be understood that, although in the above described example only addition is considered, multiplication such as, for example, 8X6 can be transformed into repeated additions wherein 8 is added 6 times and can be practically carried out on the present calculating machine on which addition is performed electrically and therefore very quickly.

The digit buttons 6 must be operated in a particular way. As will be easily seen from FIG. 2, the push bar 6' which extends below the digit buttons 6 is provided with a notch 130 and a protruding cam portion 131. In an operating plate 9 made of a curved plate mounted below the digit ,plate 3 are provided a plurality of slots corresponding to the positions of the digit buttons 6 in one column of buttons 6, and in each of these slots is a push bar 6' for a respective digit button. In other Words, there are four operating plates, one for each of the four columns of digit buttons, and in each of said four operating plates are provided 10 slots respectively corresponding to the digit buttons 0-9. Each of these operating plates is urged downwardly by a tension spring 10. If any one of the buttons is depressed, the protruding cam portion 131 of the push bar 6' of this button moves the operating plate 9 upwardly against the tension of the spring 10 and when said plate 9 reaches the notch 130, said plate is pulled downward, engages with said notched portion 130 and thereby holds the digit button in its depressed position. If another button of the same column is depressed, the protruding cam portion 131 of this button pulls the operating plate 9 up, the former button which has been in engagement with the plate 9 is returned to its normal position by a return spring 132, and the notch 130 of the push bar 6' of the second button in turn engages the plate 9. In one column, therefore one of the buttons is held in the depressed position and yet no two buttons can be held in the depressed position at one time.

Next, the clearing device will be explained. The ratchet R* which is connected to the clearing handle engages with and turns the ratchet R, as clearly shown in FIG. 6, the ratchet R' has a portion without teeth and this portion faces the ratchet R* when the digit 0 is seen in the indicator window 4 so that the ratchet R and R* do not engage with each other in this condition. Whatever digit is shown in the indicator window 4, therefore, the turning of the clearing handle turns the digit cylinders till each of the cylinders presents digit 0 in the window whereupon the ratchet R' of said cylinder is disengaged from the ratchet R Thus, with one revolution of the clearing handle, any digits from 1-9 shown in the windows will be cleared.

Now the explanation of the clearing mechanism is given. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, a collar 117 is fixed on an end of the shaft S of the digit cylinder. Said collar 117 has a notch on its periphery with which a ratchet provided on an end of a lever 113 engages. The lever 113 is pivotally fixed to a lever 113 by pivot 113", and lever 113 in turn is pivotally fixed on the shaft S and is biased by a coil spring 114. Thus the lever 113 is biased by the spring 114. Another spring 115 is fixed to the lever 113 so as to prevent the collar 117 from turning in the clockwise direction. Since configuration of the said ratchet and notch are made to permit said collar to move only in the counterclockwise direction, one can clear the digit cylinders by turning the clearing handle 7 only in said direction. The combination of said notch and ratchet also serves to indicate clearly to the operator the completion of one revolution of the collar, namely of the shaft S It will easily be seen that a number of modifications in the machine according to the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy calculating machine comprising a casing having an upper panel and a pair of side plates, a plurality of digit cylinders rotatably mounted between said two side plates, a plurality of ratchets corresponding in number to the digit cylinders and mounted between said side plates for rotational movement and movement toward and away from said digit cylinders to engage with or be disengaged from said digit cylinders, pivotal levers coupled to said ratchets for turning said ratchets, driving means which engage with and give pivotal motion to said levers, place carrying means for each of said digit cylinders subsequent to the digit cylinder corresponding to the unit digits and consisting essentially of a single member rotatably mounted in said casing and having one extension normally blocking movement of the corresponding one of said levers and having another extension engage ably mova'ble by a digit cylinder next adjacent a digit cylinder corresponding to the respective place carrying memher a distance which allows movement of the respective pivotal lever corresponding to the place carrying means a distance equal to a rotation of the ratchet sufficient to move a digit cylinder one digit, and means for blocking the range of pivotal motion of said levers depending on the amount of rotation of the ratchet wheel necessary to bring a desired digit up on a digit cylinder.

2. A toy calculating machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said driving means include an electric driving means, whereby the machine can operate at high speed.

3. A toy calculating machine as claimed in claim 1 in 7 8 which a shaft is provided in said casing on which said References Cited by the Examiner place carrying members are rotatably mounted, said place UNITED STATES PATENTS carrying members being rotated by the adjacent digit cylinder when said digit cylinder is at a position with its 1/781179 11/1930 Horton 0 i i th 0 Ton i th c d r a d 2,581,463 1/1952 Yackley et al. 235-11 1 n e 1 H p O e ym e n 5 3,104,811 9/1963 Maier -t 235-62 a transverse bar extending parallel to said shaft and movable around said shaft and en'gageable with said I place carrying members to pivot them so as to align the RICHARD WILKINSON Pnmary Examme" projections thereon and move them to a position in I. G. MURRAY, Assistant Examiner. which they normally block movement of said levers. 1Q 

1. A TOY CALCULATING MACHINE COMPRISING A CASING HAVING AN UPPER PANEL AND A PAIR OF SIDE PLATES, A PLURALITY OF DIGIT CYLINDERS ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID TWO SIDE PLATES, A PLURALITY OF RATCHETS CORRESPONDING IN NUMBER TO THE DIGIT CYLINDERS AND MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID SIDE PLATES FOR ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT AND MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID DIGIT CYLINDERS TO ENGAGE WITH OR BE DISENGAGED FROM SAID DIGIT CYLINDERS, PIVOTAL LEVERS COUPLED TO SAID RATCHETS FOR TURNING SAID RATCHETS, DRIVING MEANS WHICH ENGAGE WITH AND GIVE PIVOTAL MOTION TO SAID LEVERS, PLACE CARRYING MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID DIGIT CYLINDERS SUBSEQUENT TO THE DIGIT CYLINDER CORRESPONDING TO THE UNIT DIGITS AND CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A SINGLE MEMBER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CASING AND HAVING ONE EXTENSION NORMALLY BLOCKING MOVEMENT OF THE CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID LEVERS AND HAVING ANOTHER EXTENSION ENGAGEABLY MOVABLE BY A DIGIT CYLINDER NEXT ADJACENT A DIGIT CYLINDER CORRESPONDING TO THE RESPECTIVE PLACE CARRYING MEMBER A DISTANCE WHICH ALLOWS MOVEMENT OF THE RESPECTIVE PIVOTAL LEVER CORRESPONDING TO THE PLACE CARRYING MEANS A DISTANCE EQUAL TO A ROTATION OF THE RATCHET SUFFICIENT TO MOVE A DIGIT CYLINDER ONE DIGIT, AND MEANS FOR BLOCKING THE RANGE OF PIVOTAL MOTION OF SAID LEVERS DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF ROTATION OF THE RATCHET WHEEL NECESSARY TO BRING A DESIRED DIGIT UP ON A DIGIT CYLINDER. 